“Show, Don’t Tell”

This is one of the quotes I have come to live by. This week’s blog assignment requires us to make a post about how we would like our audience to share our blog material. I have thought long and hard about how to provide an answer to this question and this is as close to the truth as I could come up with-

No I am not looking for people to like or “star” my posts. No, I don’t want to collect followers. And no, I am not looking for some twisted form of fame that the Internet provides. Rather, nothing would mean more to me than for my audience to “share” my love for fashion (and keeping up with trends) by reading my styling tips and putting my advice to work. Nothing would make me feel more accomplished and inspired as knowing that someone out there found my pointers to be helpful. Also, I would love to get feedback on my sartorial suggestions- whether you all have found my posts to be useful, or somewhat folly.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then reality must be priceless. 😉

GoAnimate: Clueless

Clueless easily embodies one of the most iconic fashion moments in film. Alicia Silverstone’s wardrobe captured everything that defined the rich girls of the 90s: plaid, chunky blazers, knee-high’s, mini dresses, and Calvin Klein 😉

For this week’s blog assignment, I (tried to) recreate the scene where Cher Horowitz calls her best friend, Dee (played by Stacey Dash), to complain about a grade she received in history class. In the original scene, Cher is walking down the halls of Beverly Hills High School. For my remake, I placed Cher (Alicia) in a shopping boutique. I felt like my scene looked bare with her alone, so I added a filler character: a guy looking incredibly stressed out while trying to shop.

I ripped the actual audio from the movie and used it in my scene. I also added lighthearted background music to give it more of a movie feel. I added a lot of little details throughout: I gave Cher a mobile phone, added facial expressions, included thought bubbles, hearts, and even a title at the beginning of the scene. My characters are bald though, and this is due to the fact that all the available headpieces looked like they were from Dragon Ball Z or some other anime LOL.

Click here for my remake of the scene from Clueless. Enjoy! ❤

 

My QR Code

Whenever I’m walking around the city, I see QR codes on fliers, t-shirts, and even as decals on shop windows. I never really knew what it was for, but understood that it required downloading an app/scanning the pixelations with your camera. Reading the Wikipedia article, I learned that QR stands for Quick Response (by a cell phone) and the codes are used to take transitory media information and put it into a smartphone. It’s essentially a barcode that originated in Japan.

Being a curious person, I decided to do some research on the utilization of QR codes in the fashion world. Many fashion companies (think Gucci & Ralph Lauren) use QR codes to show price tags on clothing items, advertise new products, create coupons, and promote mobile sites. I mean, the code itself can be a fashion statement: the monochrome pixels placed so perfectly into a little square. Talk about minimalistic chic. 🙂

I found a free generator on Google and made a QR code for my blog. It was incredibly easy and straightforward, and I felt like i knew what I was doing (for once!). This was probably the easiest assignment to date. 

Creative Commons: Louis Vuitton SS ’15 Runway Show

Looking up arbitrary and commonplace words like “fashion” or “style” on the Creative Commons Search Engine gave me really mundane media to choose from. Instead, I decided to be specific in my search. I typed “2015 F/W Runway Show” on Youtube via Creative Commons. I found it very interesting that none of the official videos or pages popped up, but instead, my choices were limited to videos uploaded by other individuals. Issey Miyake, Victoria’s Secret, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana shows came up through Creative Commons, but most of these videos were hosted by Russian and South Korean Youtubers, like the one I incorporated into this post. Also, when directed to Youtube from Creative Commons, my search was followed by “,creativecommons” on the search bar. Also, all the videos were licensed under Creative Commons, meaning that the video is in public domain or that the entire Youtube community has the right to reuse or edit the said video at hand.

When referencing the Fair Use Checklist, I can ascertain that the video is okay to be posted on my blog because it has commentary and criticism purposes, it is published and factual in nature, and the video does not pose a threat to the copyright market.

I think Nicolas Ghesquière, the creative director, did a phenomenal job with the collection (and as the brand ambassador of LV, I was really biased to pick this video over the other shows… oops 😉 ). I have been in love with the weather we have lately and I cannot wait to style my favorite Spring and Summer pieces over the next few months. I figured we could all use a little inspiration before we bring out the floral prints and pastel hues. Enjoy!

FASHION FAUX PAS TO AVOID: SOCKS AND SANDALS

Trends are forever evolving and some looks are really daring. Pastel colored hair is so hot right now, but if you buy a box and try to dye your hair at home, it can turn into a total disaster. Edgy looks make you stand out, but if not executed right, your look may bring some really unwanted attention. There are a few fashion woes that have proved to be awful through the test of time and should be avoided, forever.

With the crazy weather we have been having, who knows what shoes to wear? It’s too warm for those Uggs and too early for your favorite rubber flip-flops. Socks with sandals: meteorologically, this may be the most weather appropriate choice.

So… Ladies and gentlemen, here are a few questions for you. Are you a middle aged man at Disney World with his family? Are you a samurai and/or geisha? Are the sandals in question strappy with a heel and are the socks in question lacey and dainty? If you answered no to any of these questions, steer clear of this potential footwear treachery. I have never heard a woman say her weakness is a guy in socks and sandals (although I have heard good news about men in button downs with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows). Who knows, maybe there are people out there who are completely in love with this footwear, but the general consensus seems to give a big no-no to this look.

Styling Tips: Winter into Spring

Burberry Fashion Show

One minute it’s snowing; the next it’s sunny and beautiful; then it’s below freezing and windy. The few weeks of late Winter and earl Spring are fashionably unpredictable and sometimes, it is impossible to tell what to wear or what to bring. Here are a few tips for looking stylish and being weather appropriate.

• Always be prepared to grab the umbrella. When you wake up in the morning, check the local forecast (you don’t even have to get out of bed).
• Dress the part. Say goodbye to the chunky, bulky, heavy-knit winter clothes and start to balance more pieces that you can transition into the spring. Less bubble coats and hoodies, more blazers and A-line coats. Less Uggs. Or rather, no Uggs ever again.
• Layers, layers, layers. Mix structures, neutral tones, patterns, and fabrics. Contrast and pattern mixing is very trendy, but be sure not to overdo it. A tank top, sweater, and trench-coat is a do. Three t-shirts stacked is a don’t. Cashmere and cotton or merino wool and silk look great next to each other. Tan, navy blue, maroon, and hunter green can easily be mixed and matched with one another: you can’t go wrong with earthy tones.
• Dare to show some skin. If it isn’t raining, ditch the knee high’s or stockings. Bare legs and ballet flats are doable, especially if you pair the flats with a longer top (perhaps a dress or a trench). Real shoes look better than your go-to Hunter’s.

Hope these tips are helpful!

-Eunipop

Meme: Steal Her Look

In fashion magazines and catalogs as well as the fashion blogosphere, the Steal Her Look or Steal Her Style guides (on where to get boutique clothes and accessories to achieve the look of a celebrity) are incredibly prominent.

Credit: Polyvore.com

Somewhere along the way, the series of lookbook-esque posts took a magnificent turn in the internet world, as people took the notion and made guides for internet memes, fictional characters, viral video celebrities, and even inanimate objects. The meme I chose is referred to as “Steal Her Look” and it is one of the most glorious things I have seen over the years.

Credit: Buzzfeed.com

I feel as though this meme takes fashion, as an industry, off the high horse. It’s not all about spending your life savings on labels; it’s about expressing yourself and wearing clothes that fit your style and personality. Fashion is sometimes paralleled to art and it makes me wonder, why not? Art can be funny! Fashion is not simply for people with extra cash, but for everyone, including people with a triumphant sense of humor.